Fire crews were called to Strode College at around 7.15pm on Tuesday evening (November 1) after reports of a smell of smoke.

On arrival at the scene it was confirmed that there was a fire in one of the rooms, and fire fighters crew got to work, donning breathing apparatus, and using hose reels to extinguish the fire.

A Hazardous Materials Officer was requested to attend to check for any hazardous materials and an Incident Support Unit was also requested for additional breathing apparatus cylinders. It has been confirmed there are no hazardous materials within the property.

A spokesman for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said: A fire within a drama studio of the college was extinguished using six breathing apparatus, two hose reels, one safety jet, three thermal image cameras, one positive pressure fan and a gas monitor. There was fifty percent damaged to the contents of the room and one hundred percent damage to the room of origin with light smoke damage to an adjacent corridor."

A spokesperson for Strode College said: The fire incident was dealt with very quickly and efficiently by the fantastic emergency services. It is believed that the fire started by accident with a small electrical fault, but this is yet to be confirmed. There is a very small area of localised smoke damage in one of the corridors and in the small dance studio which is fully contained. The college is open as normal and there will be no effect on any college activities

"We would like to thank all the messages of support that we received from the community for this incident and to let everyone know that it was thankfully very minor."